1980's

Using the Alt Syllabus, tonight I investigated Interactive Documentary and Vaporwave. The first work I visited was Arcade Fire's interactive video for "We Used to Wait" which uses google earth to flash real-life dizzying aerial views of your childhood neighborhood. This, along with Arcade Fire's characteristically cinematic songwriting, lulled me into nostalgia. It reminded me of another interactive music video they made for their song Reflektor which lets you click and drag beams of light reflecting off of mirrors as well as utilizes your laptop camera to insert your face into the climax of the video (when your image is "reflected" into a broken mirror). In the video, the digital interactive component is also used as a sort of ironic nod to the theme of the song--it's dystopic portrayal of life in the smart-phone age, as Win poses such questions as "we're so connected, but are we even friends?" At the time that I watched it--in 2013--I didn't know that this was a sub-genre of electronic literature and it's interesting to look back at it in this new context. In addition to this, I read a critical piece on Vaporwave as well as youtube streamed Macintosh Plus by Floral Shoppe, which is the first Vaporwave album. Upon first listening, I felt a juxtaposition of emotions--from soothed and numbed to at times uncomfortable and annoyed. This juxtaposition also seemed to run through the comments section with users reporting either feeling very relaxed, high or wanting to die.

-Andy AG